Castlegar City Council has decided to leave the Millennium Park dog park open, but they want to see neighbourhood concerns addressed.
On Oct. 11, council voted 5 - 1 to defeat a motion brought forward by Councillor Cherryl MacLeod calling for the closure of the park.
MacLeod says she brought forward the motion in response to concerns brought to her by neighbours of the dog park.
“This is what democracy is,” said MacLeod, “residents being able to have an avenue to get their elected officials to help them bring light to the concerns that they have.”
About 50 residents showed up for both the Committee of the Whole and regular council meetings, half of them wearing “save the dog park” t-shirts.
A number of residents on both sides of the debate spoke passionately during question period, either pleading for the park to stay open, or pleading for action to address concerns. Petitions and letters were also presented.
Councillors Bryan Bogle and Darcy Bell said that although they did not support the motion, they thought MacLeod was right to bring it forward as a way to address resident’s concerns.
Mayor Maria McFaddin said, “I sympathize with people on both sides of this equation.”
She added that in hindsight, council should have listened closer to concerns about the dog park and taken more proactive steps.
After a delegation appeared before council on Sept. 5 to express concerns over the park and asking for its closure, the SPCA altered its patrol schedule and McFaddin said some positive results have already been seen.
After the motion to close the dog park was defeated, council passed a new motion directing staff to explore the costs associated with increasing animal control enforcement, patrols and education and report back to council.
A second motion asking for a staff report on best practices used by other municipalities in their dog parks and suggesting mitigation measures to address neighbourhood concerns was also passed.
As for a timeline on the report, CAO Chris Barlow asked for two weeks to explore if the report could be handled by staff or if a consultant would be necessary.
MacLeod proposed another motion asking for the closure of the off-leash dog beach area. This would include removing the fencing and keeping dogs out of the area.
MacLeod wants to see the area returned to the natural area that it was prior to Millennium Park development. At one time, the area was designated as a bird sanctuary, primarily for sandpipers.
Several councilors said that they may eventually support the motion, but needed more information. The motion was withdrawn in order to wait for the previously requested reports.
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